The annual monsoon rains have come heavy and early to India, swelling the Ganges, India's longest river, sweeping away houses, stranding thousands, and and killing more than 100 so far. Record downpours fell in Uttarakhand state, situated in the foothills of the Himalayas, causing mudslides and flooding mountain villages. The high water is now reaching the capital of New Delhi, where nearly 2,000 people have been evacuated to government-run camps on higher ground. Authorities there said the situation would ease as the level of the Yamuna River was expected to start receding Thursday afternoon.
Early Monsoon Rains Flood Northern India
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Read moreA submerged idol of Hindu Lord Shiva stands in the flooded River Ganges in Rishikesh, in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand, on June 18, 2013. Torrential monsoon rains have cause havoc in northern India leading to flash floods, cloudbursts and landslides as the death toll continues to climb and more than 1,000 pilgrims bound for Himalayan shrines remain stranded. #
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Read moreA horse rider is silhouetted against early monsoon clouds at Marina beach in the southern Indian city of Chennai, on June 10, 2013. #
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Read morePeople play in high tide waves during monsoon rains on the Arabian Sea coast in Mumbai, India, on June 12, 2013. #
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Read morePeople gather to watch a bridge submerged in the flooded water of the River Ganges in Rudraprayag, in northern Indian state of Uttarakhand, on June 18, 2013. #
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Read moreA Hindu devotee tries to take a holy dip in the flooded waters of river Ganges in the northern Indian town of Haridwar, on June 18, 2013. #
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Read moreIndian people look at a collapsed road and flooded river in the northern state of Uttarakhand, on June 17, 2013. #
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Read moreIndian army personnel rescue stranded children and other people to a safe place in the worst flood affected region of Govind Ghat, in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand, on June 18, 2013. #
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Read moreA car sits abandoned in rubble from a landslide in Tehri, Uttarakhand, on June 19, 2013. A joint army and air force operation evacuated nearly 12,000 Hindu pilgrims stranded in a mountainous area by torrential monsoon rains and landslides in northern India, but nearly 63,000 people remain cut off, a senior official said Wednesday. #
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Read moreBuildings are partly submerged in the flooded Alaknanda River in Govind Ghat, India, on June 18, 2013. #
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Read moreFast moving water flows over a Hindu statue during a heavy monsoon rain in Rishikesh, on June 17, 2013. #
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Read morePeople survey flood damage from heavy monsoon rains in Dehradun in Uttrakhand state, on June 17, 2013. #
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Read moreA view of the Hindu holy town of Kedarnath from a helicopter after a flood, in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand, on June 18, 2013. #
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Read moreJournalists stand on a nearly empty bridge after traffic was stopped due to a perilously high water level which nearly touched the bridge on the Yamuna River, in New Delhi, India, on June 19, 2013. Heavy rainfall in northern India has caused water to be released from barrages upstream flooding the banks of the Yamuna along New Delhi. #
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Read moreA young Indian girl plays in monsoon rainwater falling on her head from an overpass in Mumbai, on June 14, 2013. #
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Read moreA resident carries his belongings through an alley flooded with the rising water level of river Yamuna after heavy monsoon rains in New Delhi, on June 19, 2013. #
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Read moreA train powers through a flooded section of railway track after heavy rains in Mumbai, on June 16, 2013. #
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Read moreIndian street children play in a puddle of water along a road in New Delhi, on June 16, 2013. #
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Read moreA man rows past a bus partly submerged in flood water in Rishikesh, Uttarakhand state, on June 18, 2013. #
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Read moreA boy sits on a ladder next to his flooded house with the water level of the Yamuna River rising after heavy monsoon rains in New Delhi, on June 19, 2013. #
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Read moreIndian children play on a flooded street after heavy monsoon rains in Mumbai, on June 16, 2013. #
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Read moreA man rests in his rickshaw as it rains in New Delhi, on June 16, 2013. #
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Read moreBuses and trucks sit submerged in the rising waters of the Yamuna River in New Delhi, on June 19, 2013. #
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Read moreA girl uses her umbrella to protect a stray dog during monsoon rains in Mumbai, on June 12, 2013. #
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